I'm sorry for "abandoning" the reread for a while, but I've been busy with classes and other things lately. I still wanted to make some comments on the second part of the prologue and chapter 1, so here they are, even if way too late.
Prologue Part IIKellhus' initial fallibility has been the subject of many comments/discussions, but it's something that is almost amusing on a reread. The Dûnyain might have some quasi-supernatural skills, sure, but going out into the world really drove Kellhus into an almost-fatal sensory overload.
On the morning of the twenty-ninth day, he crouched on rocks green with moss and watched salmon leap and pitch against a rushing river. The sun rose and set three times before his thoughts escaped this inexplicable war of fish and waters.
He was completely mesmerized by fish for over
three days. Three days! The ignorance of the outside world imposed by the first Dûnyain did not work to Kellhus' advantage at all, he was insanely lucky he found another human to manipulate (assuming that the theory of this being Moënghus' "conditioned ground" is not true) before he died in the wilderness.
He would come to them as one awake. He would shelter in the hollows of their ignorance, and through truth he would make them his instruments. He was Dûnyain, one of the Conditioned, and he would possess all peoples, all circumstances. He would come before.
Big words for a man who recently nearly died due to his own ignorance, Kellhus. Amazing when you compare the Kellhus of TAE to this early version of him, it's almost like a completely different character.
"Should you not fear me, mortal, knowing what I am? Fear too is power. The power to survive."
"It baits me! The mortal baits me . . . It reminds me, reminds . . ."
Is it just me, or is Mekeritrig's behaviour/choice of words here very different from the Nonmen we find in the rest of the series, and even from his own later appearance in TUC? While this is a great scene, I can't help but think his dialogue sounds like it's coming from a more stereotypical, classic villain. Maybe it's just the use of the word "mortal", which I don't remember happening in other books?
"ANASÛRIMBOR!" an unearthly voice called, cracking the winter silence.
"RUN, ANASÛRIMBOR!" it boomed. "I WILL REMEMBER!"
This is a nice parallel to Ajokli-Cnaiür confronting the Whirlwind at the end of TUC.
Cold night fell. Somewhere in the dark, wolves howled. Shimeh, they seemed to say, was too far.
And we close out the prologue with another mention of wolves.
Chapter 1Random initial thought: Akka is in Carythusal, where, unbeknownst to him (or any of us as first-time readers), teenage Mimara is also living at this point in time. Maybe that one guy who showed her the whales is still around, she does seem to remember being quite young at that time.
I agree with the general sentiment that this chapter isn't nowhere near as good as the prologue, it does get rather clunky at times. Still, it's not
bad, and doesn't really throw you out of the story - at least it didn't for me the first time I read it.
The Worm was filled with wolves, desperate men who followed mark after mark searching for those drunk enough to be safely plundered.
Mention of wolves #3 and counting. And yes, I'll be counting both actual and metaphorical wolves.
Burning of the Library of Sauglish. Different. See my face and not S in mirror.
This is probably the most interesting bit of the chapter on a reread, as it has been said, definitely a sign that Akka's dreams did not change only after becoming a Wizard. But could there be anything else to it, any further connection between Seswatha and Akka that we still don't know that is responsible for the different dreams? (besides the fact of Akka taking the Seswatha role at the end of TUC, that is)
I was meant to suffer, Achamian thought.
Absolutely true, and Anagkë is not finished with you yet, Akka... (this is also a fairly amusing line because of out it works in and out of universe)